


Warmth

by MerlinTides



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Gift Giving, Mentions of addiction, Minor Mentions of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-24
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-09 01:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5519639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerlinTides/pseuds/MerlinTides
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter nights are cold on Messatine. Tarn discovers a way to fix that, and a way to fix some problems of his own.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warmth

**Author's Note:**

> Just in time for Christmas! A nice, winter gift-giving fic with everyone's favourite traitor-killers. Anything meant to be in the primal vernacular is written [like this].

Nights on Messatine were cold, and for Tarn, often lonely. Stress had been getting to him lately, and with the fall of Delphi, his supply of t-cogs had been cut down significantly. He had wanted to break something. He wanted to wreck his current t-cog, but what if he needed one? What if Tesarus accidentally ground up the one in the next person on the list? What if it were to melt in Helex's smelter? What if he ran out?

No.

He didn't want to think about that. So that had left him holed up in his room, cold air creeping in through the cracks, leaving him shivering and unsure of what to do. He got up to pace, to root around through his room, hoping to find some sort of distraction. He wandered to a chest in the corner, which contained souvenirs and trinkets he'd collected while travelling to hunt for traitors.

After a few minutes of digging, he uncovered a somewhat curious box, which he discovered contained a long metal stick with a sort of blunt hook at the end, and several balls of soft, thick string-like material in various colours. A datapad laid at the bottom, labelled "instructions".

He thought for a while, until he finally managed to jog his memory and realized what it was: supplies for a type of art form that he'd encountered on a distant mechanical planet. Apparently the practice had started elsewhere, but the tools and materials had been adapted slightly. The hook tool enlarged, and the string, or "yarn", as he read it was called, was thickened and made of synthetic materials as opposed to organic fibers. 

He returned to his desk, and skimmed the instructions for a while, before settling on something to make. He chose two colours, orange and a dark red-purple, and set to work. 

His hands looped the yarn over the hook, creating a line of stitches that looked akin to a chain, then built more stitches off of those. The pattern he had used soon took the appearance of reptile-like scales, each row alternating in colour.

Once he had it figured out, he moved quickly, rhythmically, and a few hours later, he had a long scarf. He decided he would gift it to Kaon. After all, the colours would look better on him than they would on Tarn. 

He set it aside, and picked up a pale blue yarn. He started up again, this time aiming to make a different item. After all, he couldn't pick favourites with his team, and he'd given up on trying to recharge tonight anyway...

In about two hours, the blue yarn had formed a pair of small mittens for Nickel. Her hands got cold some nights, apparently. He remembered her saying that once. 

Next was another scarf, this time in a dark red, with a stitch pattern resembling small rays of light almost like a star. He had gotten quicker at this now, and soon the scarf was laid next to the other gifts. This one was for Tesarus.

Next, he took purple and silver, and tried a similar technique to the one he'd used for Nickel's mitts: making the stitches connect in a circle as opposed to rows back and forth. This time, a hat was made. Purple with a silver band around the opening.

Last came another set of mitts, larger than the last, and four instead of two. Helex's habit of tucking his hands against his chest while walking in the cold came to mind. These were orange and blue, with stripes. 

By the time he finished, the sun had risen and the rest of the DJD could be heard waking up and moving to the meeting room for a morning breifing. He waited until it sounded like the hallways were vacant before leaving, carrying his creations under his arm.

He arrived to the same sight he saw daily: his team drinking their morning energon, most looking rather tired and grumpy. They perked up a bit when he arrived, stand breifly to greet him before taking their seats again. 

"Good morning, all," Tarn said, approaching the table but not taking a seat. "First order of business: these."

The DJD looked up at Tarn, somewhat confused, as he placed a gift he had made in front of each of his teammates. Kaon was the first to speak.

"...Tarn?" He said, lifting up his scarf. "What are these?"

Tarn paused. He'd forgotten to think of a 'professional sounding' reason to give his team gifts.

"They're... To keep you all warm." That was the main reason he'd made Nickel and Helex mittens, so it made sense, he guessed. "Yes, it's cold out here, you know? Try them on." 

Vos hissed excitedly and donned his hat, the spiky bits on his helm peeking slightly through the stitches. Kaon and Tesarus both wrapped their scarves around their necks while Helex and Nickel slipped on their mitts. 

Kaon's was a bit wide, and he ended up being able to fit half his face in it. It covered his mouth, but Tarn thought he heard a muffled "Hm. Cozy." from him. Helex clapped his mittened hands together, and chuckled to himself.

"Hey, these should come in HAND-y, huh Tess?" He piped up, earning him a laugh from the other large mech. 

"...Dammit, Helex. Can't think of a good pun for mine." Tesarus replied.

"I can tell you one thing, Tesarus, if you get that scarf caught in your grinder, it won't be the only thing around your neck." Tarn chimed in. This earned him a chuckle from Helex and Vos, as well as a glare from Nickel. Tesarus simply hid his face in his scarf slightly, and flipped the ends around to his back. Tarn got himself a glass of energon, with a straw to fit through his mask slit, and sat, happily admiring his team's new attire. Kaon pulled down his scarf to take a sip of energon. Tarn could see he was smiling serenely, and beside him Helex was patting everything within reach with his mittened hands. Nickel was helping Tesarus with his scarf, as she noted that it was nice to have warm hands for once.

Vos adjusted his hat, and turned to his commander. "[Where did you even get these?]" He asked in the primal vernacular.

"I... Found supplies to make them on our travels, and decided to finally put them to good use," replied the Iarger mech. "I believe I bought it while stopping for supplies on the way to pay Borebit a visit. The process is called 'crochet'. An offworld art, obviously". Vos nodded happily in response.

"Did you make anything for yourself?" added Kaon. Tarn paused for a moment. He had been trying to avoid thinking about himself, which was why he started making these in the first place. 

"I ran out of yarn." he stated. That was a Iie, but he couldn't let anyone know the truth. "I will make myself something when I get more, and I can make the Pet something as well. If he even feels the cold, that is." Kaon's face lit up at the idea. Perhaps Tarn could make the sparkeater something to match his scarf?.

"That is an excellent idea, Tarn!" He replied, clapping his hands together. "Though I'm sorry there wasn't enough yarn for you, too..."

"It's fine, Kaon," said the purple mech, finishing off his drink. "I am quite used to the cold. Now then, we have other things to discuss!" He pulled out a datapad with the agenda for the morning meeting, and business from there went as normal. Perhaps even better than that?

Tarn was pleased at his team's reaction, and fiddled with his crochet work whenever he felt the urge to binge on transformation. While he had lied to Kaon about having no yarn, he still did not have much left. After a few nights, he ran out, and before he could cave in and start bingeing, he heard a knock at his door. 

He was not pleased to be bothered, and besides that, it was very late. His whole team should be resting, for tyranny's sake! He was only awake himself because he felt too terrible to recharge. He opened his door, doing his best to glare daggers at whoever was on the other si--

He looked around. The hall was dark, no one was there. He felt a mix of anger and fear well up inside him. If someone had been playing a trick on him, there would be hell to pay. But what if something was wrong? He stepped forward into the hall, and froze immediately as he felt his foot kick something. A box, labelled 'For Tarn, from your team'. He picked it up and brought it to his desk, opening it tentatively.

First item was a datapad, containing a group photo of the DJD, as well as ones of Helex making silly faces. It also had a note, addressed to 'A Great Leader'. There was a section written by everyone.

'Tarn, you work the hardest out of any of us. You help all of us do our very best, for the Cause, and for each other. Thank you. -Kaon'

'I will never forget the day I joined the DJD. You helped me settle in fast, and there has never been a time since that day that I felt like I couldn't rely on you. In short: Best boss ever. Seriously. -Helex'

'You know how to run a tight ship. You make us all work hard. I respect that. A lot. -Tesarus'

'[I'm the newest one here next to Nickel, but I knew I was part of the best team in the faction the moment I stepped on the Peaceful T. You made the DJD the best, and you also make the best hats. Also it's nice that you actually understand me when I talk.] -Vos'

'All of you nuke-heads are important, but you help me keep the others safe, healthy, and in line, so you are permanently in my good books. -Nickel'

Tarn smiled behind his mask, setting the datapad down and sighing. Next in the box was a large bottle of fine, wonderfully aged, and no doubt expensive energon, one of his most obvious guilty pleasures. It had a tag stating that Helex had gotten it for him. He set that aside, planning to store it away for a special occasion. Next, a box of sweets, that looked to be handmade. As he had guessed, it was Vos' doing. Though he could not taste, the small mech was an excellent chef, and he was excellent at shaping his culinary creations into intricate shapes. Those, he decided, he would try sooner than later. Next, a small, handheld instrument. It appeared to be made by a mechanical race, but it was definitely not Cybertronian. The small datapad next to it seemed to have some information, and both were labelled as Kaon's gift. From Tesarus was a small music player, and when Tarn hit play, he was greeted with a wonderful orchestral piece that was fit his tastes perfectly. Nickel's gift was next, a sculpture of the Decepticon insignia. It looked to be made from many different materials, and the base had the words 'All walks of life, united for one cause'. That was going on his desk for sure. It was a good reminder of the greatness of the cause he dedicated his life to. The last item in the box was a large, silky soft square of yarn. The stitches in places looked wonky, as if it had been traded from person to person as it was being made. The tag only confirmed this theory: 'from all of us', it read. 

Tarn put all of his gifts in their places in his room, sampling the energon treats in the process. Then, he wrapped himself up in the blanket. He did not know where they had found the yarn, or how and when they had learned to crochet, but he was touched, and very, very cozy. So cozy, in fact, that he actually began to feel sleepy. He drifted off to recharge, cuddled up tightly in the blanket.

He would thank his team properly in the morning.


End file.
